By Maduka Nweke
Stakeholders in the built environment, have urged the Federal Government to take measures to ameliorate the impact of flooding in Nigeria. Speaking to PropertyMartrecently, Chief David Obodoeze, Chief Executive Officer of Denora Investment said that Nigerians especially those living along waterways will continue to experience flooding if Federal Government fails to dredge Rivers Niger and Benue.
He said that huge losses are yearly recorded as a result of floods besides loss of lives.
Similarly a socio-cultural organisation, Kwararafa Peoples’ Assembly (KPA), in Benue State has recently urged the government to dredge Rivers Niger and Benue to tackle the yearly flood ravaging the north central states yearly.
Prof. Emmanuel Oloja-Ejeikwu, Interim National President of KPA, said dredging of the rivers would also create economic opportunities for the region and the country at large.
“If River Benue and River Niger are dredged, the yearly ravaging floods and its effects on the people in Benue, Kogi, Niger and Taraba states in particular, will be drastically reduced,” he said. He alleged that the emergency relief funds meant to cushion the effects of the flood on the people, was usually not judiciously utilised by governments.
“Note also that if these two rivers are dredged, mini ports can be created to bring development closer to the peoples of Central Nigeria,” he said.
Oloja-Ejeikwu said that the dredging of the rivers would also reduce out of bank flow of these rivers yet no consideration is given in this direction.
He said that, in physical land mass, the Kwararafa people occupied central Nigeria and spread across the country from Northwest through the Northeast and Southeast to the Southwest.
The president said that the Kwararafa people occupy at least 27 of the 36 states in Nigeria, including the FCT, making up a minimum of 25 per cent of the population in each state. He said that, in some states, particularly in central Nigeria, the population of Kwararafa people is between 75 to 95 per cent.
According to him, the people of Kwararafa are basically farmers, hunters and fishermen, very industrious and rich in arts and craft in several solid minerals. He, however, said the people were not able to engage and exploit these natural endowments and recourses in their land because of the activities of some persons.
“As we speak, Dangote Coal Mines Ltd. is busy mining coal in Effa, Ugbokolo, Okpokwu LGA, Benue, polluting the only natural river, rivers Ohimini and Okpokwu. “These are the rivers available to the local communities as their only source of portable water for drinking and other domestic engagements.’’